CA-NEWS Summary

U.S. may boost Syria rebels if Assad won't talk peace

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Washington threatened on Wednesday to increase support for Syria's rebels if President Bashar al-Assad refuses to discuss a political end to a civil war that is spreading across borders. Rebels called for reinforcements to combat an "invasion" by Hezbollah and its Iranian backers, days after President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched an offensive against a strategic town that could prove to be a turning point in the war.

Oklahoma tornado victims astounded at how they survived

MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Tornado survivors thanked God, sturdy closets and luck in explaining how they lived through the colossal twister that devastated an Oklahoma town and killed 24 people, an astonishingly low toll given the extent of destruction. At least one family took refuge in a bathtub and some people shut themselves in underground shelters built into their houses when the powerful storm tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday.

British soldier hacked to death in suspected Islamist attack

LONDON (Reuters) - A British soldier was hacked to death by two men shouting Islamic slogans in a south London street on Wednesday, in what the government said appeared to be a terrorist attack. A dramatic clip filmed by an onlooker just minutes after the killing showed a man with hands covered in blood, brandishing a bloodied meat cleaver and a knife.

China milk powder firms court foreign cachet for domestic gains

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The rolling green hills and gurgling blonde toddlers in the ads for Yashili International Holdings Ltd underscore how keen China's biggest milk powder producers are to appear global to emerge from the shadow of a fatal baby formula scandal. The 2008 incident, which involved melamine-tainted milk powder, soured China's $12.5 billion infant formula market for local firms and helped multinationals with established safety records to nearly double their market share in the past five years. Foreign brands now account for about half of total sales.

Exclusive: Glencore, Trafigura deals with Iran may have skirted sanctions - U.N

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Metals swap deals with Iran by Switzerland-based commodities giants Glencore Xstrata and Trafigura could have been a way of skirting international sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, according to a confidential U.N. Panel of Experts report seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Reuters reported on March 1 that Glencore had supplied thousands of tons of alumina to an Iranian firm that has provided aluminum to Iran's nuclear program, an allegation Glencore confirmed as accurate. Afterward, Trafigura acknowledged it had also traded with the same Iranian firm.

U.S. probe of Benghazi attack focused on more than five suspects

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An investigation of the attacks on the American diplomatic mission and nearby annex in Benghazi, Libya, last year is looking at more than five potential suspects, a U.S. national security source said on Wednesday. The source would not identify the suspects who have come to the attention of the FBI, which is investigating the September 11, 2012, attacks that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

U.S. acknowledges killing four Americans in overseas attacks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government formally acknowledged on Wednesday for the first time that it had killed four Americans in counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Pakistan, where the United States has carried out regular drone strikes. Attorney General Eric Holder named the four dead U.S. citizens in a letter to members of Congress a day before President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver an address on the use of drones.

European banks stop sending money to North Korea: aid groups

BEIJING (Reuters) - European aid groups said their banks in Europe had stopped sending money to North Korea in the wake of U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang's main foreign exchange bank, leaving them scrambling for a solution short of hand-carrying cash into the impoverished country. Aid groups said if it became impossible to send enough money to operate, donors might withdraw support for their programs.

Iran pushes ahead with nuclear plant that worries West

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is pressing ahead with the construction of a research reactor that Western experts say could eventually produce plutonium for a nuclear weapon if Tehran decides to make one, a U.N. report showed on Wednesday. In another development likely to worry the United States and its allies, the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had added to its capacity to refine uranium, which can also provide the fissile core of a bomb if enriched to a high level.

EU approves sending border security advisers to Libya

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments approved a mission on Wednesday to help Libya improve its border security in response to concerns that Islamist militants and weapons move freely across the North African country's frontier. The 110-member EU civilian team, expected to start deploying in Libya next month, will advise and train Libyan officials on how to strengthen the security of the country's land, sea and air borders, an EU statement said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-012048431.html

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